The Black Fox
by Aryck-The-One
Summary: Since the Lylat Wars ended, Fox McCloud has wondered; could his father still be alive? A year after the events of Star Fox: Assault, he embarks on a quest to find answers in the distant Kyrak System; a dark corner of the galaxy where a bitter civil war rages, Andross may seek to return to power, and a mysterious mercenary group called Black Fox plays all sides against the middle.
1. Prologue: Out of the Past

**Author's Notes : Okay... I mostly wrote this story just for fun, so it may not be my best work. It is however the first multi-chaptered story I've ever completed; I got the rest of the chapters done, I just need to edit them before uploading. I'll be uploading new chapters over the next few weeks. I don't critique at all, but no flames.**

 **Oh, one more thing; I've only ever played Star Fox 64 and Star Fox Assault. I have not played Star Fox Adventures, so everything I know about that game, I know from reading only... so sorry if I missed anything important story-wise. I do know the basic lore behind Krystal and her relationship with Fox. Also, this takes place a year after the events of Star Fox Assault. The Great Fox has been rebuilt by now, and the Lylat System is well on the way to recovery after the Aparoid Invasion.**

* * *

Most of the crew aboard the Great Fox was asleep.

Falco, Slippy, Krystal, and Peppy had all retired to their bunks for the night. ROB was keeping an eye on the ship and it's crew from the bridge. Only the team's fearless leader was still awake in his quarters.

Fox McCloud sat at his personal terminal, his eyes glued to the monitor. The holographic display showed a recording of an Arwing fighter flying down a narrow tunnel; as captured by the black box and holocam on the second Arwing following it out. The visual quality was terrible, with the playback punctuated by constant static and screen tearing.

Fox had watched this recording what felt like a thousand times over; it'd been taken from the black box on his old Arwing, the one he'd flown during the Lylat Wars years ago. In the final battle of war, he'd flown into Andross's lair, challenged the mad scientist's giant mechanized head, and defeated him before racing back to the surface to avoid the resulting shockwave from the construct's destruction.

Only, he'd flown that mission alone.

When Andross was defeated, Fox had been momentarily disoriented by the explosion; unable to find the exit, he thought he was doomed to die with the mad ape. That's when that second Arwing appeared... and Fox heard the voice of his father, James McCloud, call out to him. He urged him to follow, leading Fox out of the underground lair and to safety.

Afterwards, Fox assumed that he must have hallucinated- maybe bumped his head against the side of the canopy. Peppy insisted that no one else had gone in after him; their Arwings were all too badly damaged to be of assistance. What was more, the data on his ship's black box had been corrupted at the time (a result of the explosion, Peppy theorized) so Fox couldn't go back and see if what he'd seen in the lair was real.

That was ten years ago. Fox's old SF-64 Arwing had gone down with the original Great Fox at the Aparoid homeworld, but it's data recorder was stored in a military archive on Corneria before that. General Pepper had returned it to Fox just a few weeks ago, after one of his engineers managed to piece the data back together.

That was how Fox came to possess the grainy holo-recording now playing on his terminal. It confirmed that there had been another ship leading him to safety on that fateful mission. There was no audio; the Cornerian techs had been lucky to get as much as they had out of that old data-core. Fox couldn't hear his father's voice over the comm, but he knew in his heart that it was him. It had to be.

Fox's ruminations were interrupted by the sound of the alarm on his cabin door; someone was outside, asking to come in. Fox had an idea of who it might be...

"Come in," he called out. The door hissed open, revealing a gorgeous blue-furred fox with azure eyes; his wingmate and close friend, Krystal.

"You're up awful late," Fox remarked.

"You're one to talk," Krystal retorted. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Just trying to make sense of this," he replied, nodding his head at the monitor; he'd paused the recording, and now the second, unidentified Arwing could be seen in plain sight, the glare of it's main thruster just a few yards off the chaser's nose.

Krystal walked up behind Fox's chair, placing one hand on top of the headrest and contemplating the image on-screen. "What exactly are you hoping to find?"

"I honestly don't know... something. Anything. Just a small hint as to who he was, or where he went," Fox answered.

"I think you already know who he was," Krystal observed. "What you really want to know is what became of him."

"You're reading my mind?" Fox accused, looking over his shoulder. Krystal smirked back at him. "I don't need to," she retorted. "It's written all over your face."

You would think Krystal might set him on edge with her power of telepathy, but somehow Fox felt comfortable around her; he knew she didn't use her powers unless she had to, and would never be so arrogant as to invade his private thoughts.

"Fox, I'm getting worried about you," Krystal confessed. "You haven't been sleeping; you haven't been fit to fly in weeks."

"I know, I know..." Fox said. "I'm becoming obsessed... but I can't help it! I have to know the truth about what happened to him. I've watched this recording a dozen times, looking for some kind of clue... I just can't help but think that I'm missing something. Or that I'm forgetting something."

"I know how you must feel," Krystal comforted, kneeling down beside Fox and placing a hand on his arm. "And no, I'm not reading your mind... but I know how much your father must have meant to you. I know it must be frustrating to know that he might be alive, only to have hidden from you for all these years."

"That's the big question," said Fox. "If he is alive, why would he hide? Why would he lead everyone to think he's dead? It doesn't make any sense..."

"You want answers," said Krystal. "I understand. But depriving yourself of sleep and watching the same old recording night after night isn't going to help."

Fox stared at the screen for a few more moments, contemplating Krystal's words. What she said was true; he'd been combing through this same footage every night for the past couple of weeks. He was exhausted, his mind unfocused. Even if there was some clue to be found in the old recording, he wasn't going to find it in this state.

"I am pretty tired..." Fox admitted.

Krystal smiled. "Why don't you get some rest? If you like, I can look through the data for you; see if I can find that missing piece of the puzzle."

"Yeah, that'd be great..." Fox replied. "Thanks, Krystal."

Fox got up out of the chair, stretched, and yawned before making his way over to the bunk; he took off his jacket and tossed it aside before allowing himself to fall onto the bed.

"Anytime," said Krystal, who took Fox's place in the terminal chair. "Now, try to get some sleep. I'll let you know if I find anything, alright?"

"Mm-hm..." Fox grunted in response.

It wasn't long before Fox McCloud's snores filled the cabin. Krystal took over where Fox left off, playing the recording again and again, her eyes narrowed at the screen. She focused on the unknown Arwing leading Fox out of the tunnel, trying to pick out small details or identifying markings.

This quickly proved impossible due to the poor video quality. Krystal watched as the Arwing led Fox through a series of tunnels before exiting through a hatch at the end; as it left the breach, it quickly disengaged, boosting to orbit and out of sight of the holocam.

Krystal checked the data that accompanied the visual recording; it was heavily corrupted, but perhaps she could plot the other Arwing's trajectory to find out where it went.

Data scrolled down the left-hand side of the screen. Just as Krystal suspected, the corruption was extensive; too much for her to discern anything from it. She hadn't really expected to find anything there- Fox had no doubt look at the same data already, and found nothing.

But there was one thing Fox hadn't tried...

What Fox didn't know was that he had a powerful mental bond with his father. As such, if Krystal were to probe his memories through telepathy, then it would be possible for her to reach out to James's mind as well.

Krystal felt guilty invading Fox's privacy like this, but it was the only thing she could think of. It would be so much easier to do while he was sleeping, with his mind relaxed... if she could find his memory of the Battle of Venom, she could find James McCloud.

Krystal spun the chair around so that she was facing Fox's bunk. She placed her hands in her lap, closed her eyes, and focused.

As she plunged into Fox's mind, she saw images, flashes of ships battling in space, hear the sounds of explosions and blaster fire, as well as a myriad of voices. Concentrating with all her might, Krystal sifted through all of Fox's thoughts and memories, looking for his last memory of James McCloud.

As she delved deeper, she found something; images of the toxic world of Venom, Arwings and Wolfen battling above a dome-shaped stone structure nestled among rocky spires. They were soon followed by images of narrow stone corridors, and then Andross himself, and a most peculiar sight... a giant brain, floating high above the ground in a massive underground chamber lit by emerald lights.

She saw flashes of an Arwing battling this strange entity, followed by an explosion, and Fox crying out in shock; and then...

 _"Don't ever give up, my son..."_

 _"Father!?"_

Bingo.

Krystal saw the very same images from the data recorder, only now they were perfectly clear. Two Arwings raced down the narrow stone tunnels she'd seen earlier, a massive fireball threatening to engulf them from behind. She delved into the minds of the two pilots; one frantic and confused, the other calm and focused.

Krystal focused her own mind on the latter. She saw an image of an older fox in aviator glasses piloting the lead Arwing. As the two exited the dome, they split up, just like in the holorecord... only now, she could see where the other Arwing was going.

It broke orbit, and then came to a stop; the pilot's attention was focused on something beyond visual range, but Krystal could see the picture in the pilot's mind of the Great Fox, of Peppy... and of Fox himself.

 _"I'm sorry, Fox,"_ said the pilot.

The next images were of the Arwing turning away from the planet; Krystal could see the pilot inputting coordinates on the fighters console. Krystal struggled to grasp the pilot's thoughts as he prepared to make the jump to lightspeed, hoping to uncover his destination.

 _"This isn't over, Andross,"_ echoed the voice of James McCloud. _"I know where you're hiding, now... and I'm coming for you."_

Andross? What? Krystal was confused, but she had no time to ponder this; she needed to know where James went.

Where are you going? She thought. Where...

A single word echoed through the mind of James McCloud as the Arwing warped out of the system; and with it, Krystal saw one final image of an ancient star, a blue supergiant.

 _Kyrak._

Krystal gasped. Her eyes snapped open; Fox rolled over in his sleep, having been ever-so-slightly disturbed by her invasive telepathy. Krystal took several deep breaths, trying collect herself.

The Kyrak System. That was where James McCloud had gone.

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 **Author's Notes : Well, that's the prologue, for what it's worth. Let me know what you think. I'll get to work editing the next chapter soon, and post it as soon as it's ready. BTW, I'll address Andross's presence on Sauria during Star Fox Adventures later on in the story.  
**

 **I came up with a whole bunch of different planets and destinations in this new star system called Kyrak, with much of the inspiration coming from Mass Effect; mostly planets you found in the galaxy map, but couldn't actually visit.**


	2. Horizon Station: Picking Up the Trail

**Author's Note : My biggest concern while writing this story is that the battle scenes would come off as a bit... repetitive (no combat in this chapter, but expect it in the next one). Like I said, I wrote this more for fun than anything else, all while envisioning myself playing a Star Fox game most of the way. If you have any critique to offer, particularly in the next chapter, I'd greatly appreciate it; it'll help me improve with future chapters. As always... no flames.**

* * *

Horizon Station. _You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy,_ was how Peppy had described it; the space station, which consisted of a metallic, spherical structure encased within a skeletal frame, orbited Kyrak's innermost planet, called Fulmin.

Fulmin itself was barren and inhospitable, and tidally-locked to the blue supergiant- the same side of the planet was always facing the sun, leaving one side of the planet scorched barren, and the other side a dark and frigid wasteland. Solar collectors and power stations dotted the sunward side, providing power to Port Horizon via wireless transmission; Horizon's exterior scaffolding was actually like a giant electrical conductor, channeling power recieved from transmitters on the planet's surface into the central structure. The solar power array would've been rigged to the station itself... but Horizon needed a colossal amount of energy just to keep it from falling into the massive star, and the planet's surface offered a lot more space for solar panels to be erected.

Inside, there were gladitorial arenas where both ferocious wild beasts and sentients alike were pitted against each other in deadly combat. Around these were countess bars, clubs, and casinos run by some of the most notorious criminals in the galaxy. There were also apartment complexes that housed refugees and outcasts from other worlds; many came to Horizon looking for a better life, a fresh start... only to find themselves at a dead end, forced into destitution on a world filled with criminals.

When he and Krystal first set foot on Horizon Station, Fox quickly decided that Peppy had been right. He'd never been to a more vile and corrupt world. He strongly doubted that his father would ever frequent a place like this... but it wasn't as though they had any other leads.

Krystal's invasive telepathy (for which she'd already apologized profusely) had revealed one thing; his father, after leading Fox to safety on Venom, had jumped straight to the Kyrak System.

Kyrak itself was a _gargantuan_ blue supergiant unlike anything Fox had ever seen, a hundred thousand times the size of Lylat. According to Peppy, Kyrak and Lylat had once orbited around each other, forming a binary star system... until several million years ago, when Lylat's orbit began to deteriorate, and it was ejected from the system. Since then, Kyrak- like Lylat- had gathered it's own system of planets, many of which were terraformed, since habitable worlds couldn't form naturally around blue giants... especially not when they were so dangerously close to galactic core.

Why James McCloud decided he need to come to this forsaken corner of the galaxy, Fox had little idea. Krystal seemed to think it had something to do with Andross, but that didn't make any sense; Andross was dead, having first been defeated on Venom, and again when he tried to ressurect himself using the Krazoa spirits on Sauria.

The Kyrak System was no stranger to mercenaries and warlords... the entire system was currently embroiled in a civil war. A great empire had risen from the outermost planet of Parthia, homeworld to the panther and tiger races, and ruled over much the system with an iron fist. Having lived under the oppression of the Parthian Empire for too long, Kyrak's people had begun to fight back, forming the Resistance.

Fox wouldn't be getting involved in this conflict if he could help it. There were no heroes in this war, as neither side hestitated to go to extremes to get what they wanted. Fox only wanted to find his father... and deal with Andross, if he was indeed still alive.

"I've been thinking," said Kyrstal, as she and Fox strolled out of the spaceport terminal.

"Unlike you, I can't read minds," Fox replied. "So you're going to have to enlighten me."

"I was thinking..." Krystal repeated. "If Andross is in the Kyrak System as well, then maybe he has something to do with this civil war."

Fox pondered this for a moment; Andross wasn't exactly the most predictable. Fox couldn't figure what reason that ape might have for taking sides in this war, but then he never would've guess it'd been Andross pulling the strings back on Sauria, either.

"Yeah... maybe," Fox agreed.

"Perhaps your father could tell us more, if he's been out here all this time," Krytsal suggested.

"We have to find him first," said Fox. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Wolf said to meet him at Gladitoria," Krystal answered. Ahead of them, just across from the docking bays, was a holographic map of the station; Krystal walked up to this, and pointed out an arena in the upper section.

"Apparently, it's a high-stakes gladitorial arena, where teams of mercenaries engage in live firefights," Krystal explained.

"Any idea how we get there?" Fox asked. Krystal was just as much of a stranger to Port Horizon as he was- but fortunately, there was an android next to the map display to answer that question for him.

 _"If you're looking for Gladitoria, and the most exciting combative sports Horizon has to offer..."_ it supplied cheerfully. _"...simply board the tram at the Docking Sector station, and take the tram to the Entertainment Sector Zero-Zero-One!"_

"Oh... thanks," Fox replied.

 _"You're very welcome!"_ The android chirped back. _"Please enjoy your stay on Horizon Station!"_

The tram ride up to the entertainment sector was uneventful. In the few minutes it took to reach their destination, Fox wondered what Wolf would have to say... Wolf O'Donnell had been Fox's nemesis since he'd first taken command of the Star Fox team. But in there last encounter, Wolf had actually chosen to fight alongside Star Fox against their common foe- the Apararoids.

After that, he vanished. Now they know Wolf and his team were working in the Kyrak System- for what faction, they didn't know. Fox considered the possibility that he might be working for Andross again, so he hadn't told Wolf anything more than he needed to know... just that they were looking for someone who'd gone missing in the Kyrak System.

When Fox and Krystal arrived at Gladitoria, the android at the ticket booth was slagged; from the looks of it, some ruffian had shot it's head off with a blaster.

"I guess we just go in?" Krystal supplied at the sight of the wrecked android. There didn't appear to be any functional security system to keep them out, so Fox followed her lead.

Inside, a battle was already underway in the arena. Two teams of mercs were engaged in a savage firefight; a herd of dinos against a pack of wolves. Blaster shots, lasers, and rockets flew back and forth across the small battlefield, with stray shots crashing into the force fields around it, and the crowds behind them cheering on the combatants with enthusiasm.

Fox and Krystal navigated the rows of seats, keeping their eyes pealed for their contact while also trying not to aggravate the spectators; Krystal almost found herself in big trouble indeed when she trod on the foot of a particularly large hog.

"Hey, watch where you're stepping, Bluey!" He snarled as she walked by. With the Hog being at least twice Pigma's size and with boarlike tusks, they thought it best not to stick around.

"Hey, pup! Over here!" A familiar voice called out. Fox scanned the rows of spectators until he saw him; Wolf O'Donnell, leaning over the back of his seat, jerking his head for them to come over.

The two found that all the seats around Wolf were full; and the two apes behind him quickly became irate, complaining that Fox and Krystal were blocking their view.

"You two," said Wolf, addressing the chimps. "Get lost."

"Who died and made you administrator?" One of the chimps said indignantly. "We paid good money for these seats, so why don't you take your friends and-"

The chimp was cut off by a low growl to his left. It was just then that Fox noticed Panther was sitting right next to the pair... and he was pointing a blaster at them.

"You heard the wolf," he growled. "Beat it."

The chimps didn't need telling twice; they took off, allowing Fox and Krystal to take their seats- Krytsal made a point to put Fox between herself and the lecherous Panther.

"I gotta say, pup," Wolf commented. "I never thought I'd be meeting you in a place like this."

"It was your idea to meet here, Wolf," Fox shot back.

"Better this way," Wolf retorted. "Plenty of noise. People are too busy watching the fight to pay us any attention... so we can speak freely."

"So tell me," he went on. "Just what is it that necessitates us meeting in the most unlikely of places?"

Krystal and Fox exchanged looks before answering.

"My father," Fox said simply.

Whatever Wolf had expected, it certainly wasn't this. His attention was now fixed soley on Fox, with the battle raging below completely and utterly forgotten.

"What about him?" Wolf asked after a pregnant pause.

"He's alive... and he's here, in the Kyrak System," Fox answered. "I thought if anyone might know where he is-"

"James McCloud is supposed to be dead," Wolf asserted. "What makes you think-?"

"It's a long story... but we found proof that he's alive, and that he came here after the Lylat Wars," Fox explained. "I find it hard to believe that you don't know anything about this."

For a while, Wolf didn't respond. And then...

"I... hadn't considered the possibility," he said finally.

"Considered... what? What possibility?" Fox probed. It was Panther who answered this question.

"You're not thinking about Black Fox?" He directed this statement at Wolf.

Fox looked back and forth between the two mercenaries, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

"What's Black Fox?" He inquired.

"Another mercenary squadron," Wolf elaborated. "Word is they operate out of Sector Alpha, just outside the star system. Plenty of manpower, well-organized, and extremely well-equipped... with Stealth Arwings, no less."

"Stealth Arwings?" Fox repeated.

"They're like the _Assault_ variants your team's been using," Wolf clarified. "But far more advanced; cloaking field generators and radar-jammers. Gives them a huge edge over their competition... including Star Wolf."

"You've met them before?" Krystal asked. Wolf nodded.

"Only tangled with them once, in Sector Gamma," Wolf told them. "They came out of nowhere. We didn't even have a chance to fight back! Ended up losing Leon; don't know if he was captured, or killed."

"What does this have to do with my father?" Fox queried.

"Your old man _designed_ the Stealth Arwing," Wolf revealed. "I figured Black Fox might've gotten the designs off the black market, but now..."

"You think my father might be with them?" Fox finished for him. Wolf nodded in affirmation.

"Maybe... though I never would've guessed. Black Fox is different from you and me," Wolf went on.

"How so?"

"They're profiteers who don't pick sides," said Wolf. "They're playing both sides against the middle in this civil war, working for both the Parthian Empire and the Kyrak Resistance to maximize their profits... and that doesn't sound like James McCloud at all."

"Unless there's more to this conflict than meets the eye," Krystal suggested.

"What's she on about?" Wolf asked Fox.

"Andross." Fox answered. "He's here, in the Kyrak System."

"You're telling me that mad ape is still alive, too?" Wolf scoffed.

"You think it would be enough for James McCloud to sign on with Black Fox?" Fox retorted.

"Maybe... but if that's what he did, they probably don't know who he really is," Wolf supplied. "I'd say it's more likely they killed him and took his ship."

That did sound more likely, but Fox didn't want to consider that; he'd only just found out his father could be alive. To learn that he was killed by a band of ruthless mercenaries would be like losing him all over again.

"So... how do we find this Black Fox team?" Krystal inquired.

Wolf turned around in his seat, facing the arena again. "Like I said; Black Fox has been playing both Parthia and the rebels for fools. If you can gain their trust, they'll probably have a line on Black Fox."

"Well, we're not about to sign on with an oppressive fascist empire," Fox decided. "So that leaves the rebels."

"You'd rather work with terrorists?" Wolf inquired, raising the one eyebrow that wasn't covered by his visor.

"They're fighting for a just cause, if nothing else," Fox supplied weakly. He had a feeling he'd regret getting mixed up with the Resistance... almost as much as would regret fighting them on Parthia's behalf. But what could he do?

"If you're looking for the Resistance," Wolf said. "Word is they have a hidden base on either Corvis or Corran; they're twin planets, further out of the solar system. As for the imperials... just head straight for Parthia."

Wolf stood up. "By the way... I wouldn't stick around for too long," he said.

"Why not?" Fox asked.

"I think someone may have noticed you on your way in." Wolf nodded towards the arena exit; it was there that Fox noticed a number of heavily-armed ruffians moving about the stands, with several standing guard by the entrance. Space pirates, no doubt.

"You set us up!" Fox accused. Wolf shook his head.

"Actually, they're probably here for us," said Panther. "I recognize them from Leviathor; the Parthians hired us to raid their compound on the moon a few weeks back."

"Then we'd best make ourselves scarce," Wolf agreed. He turned to Fox. "You might want to do the same; I don't think they'll be any happier to see Star Fox here than me and Panther."

"Right..." Fox agreed. "C'mon, Krystal; let's get back to the Docking Bay!"

* * *

 **Author's Note : And... there's Chapter 2! Chapter 3 will have some combat in it, both on board the station and out in space. Let me know what you think. I'll get to work editing Chapter 3 as soon as I'm ready.**


	3. Horizon Station: Old Friends, New Foes

**Author's Note : Okay, this chapter has some action in it. Let me know what you think; read and review.**

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Fox and Krystal soon realized there was no hope for slipping out quietly; the pirates had all the exits covered, and were spread all over the stands looking for Wolf and Panther.

"They're looking for Wolf, right?" Fox pointed out. "Maybe they'll be too busy to bother with us."

So, Fox decided to try out a rather unconventional tactic; walk right past the guards.

Fox, followed closely by Krystal, walked up to the ruffians standing guard by the exit. He had no idea what happened to Wolf and Panther; it suddenly occured to him that if these creeps were after Wolf, then he was probably using Fox as a distraction while he slipped out some other way.

But, it wasn't as though they had another way out of _Gladitoria;_ all they could do was play along... and be ready for when the shooting started.

"Hold it right there, foxy," said one of the guards. "Where do you think you're going?"

"We were just leaving..." Krystal responded.

"Not just yet," the pirate insisted. "We saw yous talkin' to Wolf over there."

"Who?" Fox said, feigning ignorance. But the pirates weren't that stupid.

"Don't play dumb with me, puppy!" The pirate said angrily. "We was watchin' you the whole time; you were havin' a nice long chat over there with our old pal Wolf. Now... tell us where he went, and we might let you live."

So far, these guys hadn't recognized either Fox or Krystal as being part of Star Fox... but they suspected them of being friends with Wolf O'Donnell, and that was bad enough.

"Look," said Fox. "I honestly don't know what your problem with Wolf is," he lied. "...and I don't know where he is, or where he's going. So why don't you just cut us some slack?"

"The proprietor won't take too kindly to you shooting up the place over this," Krystal added, jerking her head back the arena.

"Am I supposed to give a shank?" The pirate shot back. "One. Last. Time; tell us where Wolf is, or-"

"You know what?" Fox said, drawing his blaster. "Forget it."

With that, he pulled the trigger. A charged shot struck the ape square in the chest, knocking him flat on his back. Before he could react, Krystal clubbed the second goon over the head with her own blaster, and picked up his machine gun.

"Run!" Fox shouted, and he and Krystal bolted out the door; Fox turned and shot the control panel so that it sealed behind them.

Unfortunately, the pirates had more goons outside the arena as well, and they'd heard the shots. As Fox and Krystal ran past the wrecked android at the ticket booth, shots rang out from down the adjacent corridor; more pirates, bearing down on them with machine guns, shotguns, and blasters.

The two foxes returned fire. Krystal sprayed the ruffians with machine gun fire, filling the air with green tracers, and knocking down several of the pirates. Fox likewise hammered the trigger of his blaster, hitting one goon after another with a series of well-placed headshots.

"Keep moving!" Fox said. "Let's hope they haven't shut down the tram!"

Hordes of pirates stood between them and the tram station. Fox picked up one of their shotguns for himself as they fought their way back to the terminal; some of the pirates were using barriers for protection... normally a charged blaster shot would deal with these, but the shotgun was even better- as one pirate charged Fox head on, protected by a shield, Fox let loose with the shotgun.

When he pulled the trigger, volley of red blaster shots tore right through the barrier and knocked the pirate off his feet. Fox pumped the shotgun and shifted his aim, bringing down two more unshielded pirates with a single shot. Krystal followed up with yet another barrage of machine gun fire, mowing down the last of the pirates between them and the terminal.

They boarded the tram; it took off for the docking bay as soon as Fox gave the order to the android driving the vehicle, and it looked as though they were home free- until the tram came to a sudden halt halfway back to the dock.

"They've shut down the tram!" Krystal exclaimed.

"There's gotta be another way out of here..." said Fox. Sure enough, there was an emergency hatch on top of the tram car; Fox popped it open and climbed out- Krystal followed.

"We should be able to get back through the maintenance corridors," Fox suggested. There was an access hatch to the maintenance ducts just ahead from where the tram car had stopped... but another tram was head straight for them, and Fox could see it was loaded with more pirates.

"Look out!" Krystal shouted. Fox saw the danger; when the doors on tram open, one of the pirates that stepped out was carrying a rocket launcher. Fox and Krystal quickly dived into cover- a rocket sailed over their heads and blew up the tram car they'd just vacated.

They were now right under the tracks. The pirates dropped down, all except the one with the rocket launcher, who'd stopped to reload his weapon.

Fox took down the leader using his pilfered shotgun, and spotted a grenade on his belt; he took it, primed the explosive, and lobbed it up and over the tracks; it landed right beside the rocket-toting pirate, who didn't realize until it was too late. He dropped his rocket launcher over the edge just before being blown to smithereens.

They cleared out the rest of their adversaries without much trouble. Krystal picked up the rocket launcher before they made their way to the maintenance hatch.

There were a series of small tunnels and lifts to navigate to reach the docking bays. At one point, Fox and Krystal found themselves in a large shaft that looked as though it stretched from the bottom of station to the very top. Judging by the fans around the edge of the shaft, this was part of Horizon's ventilation system.

The shaft was filled with hovering maintenance drones that were working on repairing and replacing the fans in the ventilation shaft; the flat-topped androids served as improvised platforms so Fox and Krystal could make their way down.

"Don't look down..." Fox advised, jumping from the head of one of the drones to another as it drifted downward.

"I see an open shaft over there!" Krystal pointed out a hatch just a few more feet below them; and access port for the maintenance bots. That was there way out.

They made it without too much trouble; at one point, Krystal slipped and fell off of one of the repair bots when it suddenly shifted direction, but Fox caught her before she fell into the shaft... leading to a somewhat awkward moment as the fox held her in his arms, carrying her bridal-style the rest of the way down.

"You alright?" Fox asked, setting her down. She nodded; both of them were blushing like crazy. He had to wonder when he and Krystal would get past this embarrassing and awkward stage in their relationship, especially considering how long they'd been together... but that was for him to worry about later. Right now, those pirates were likely still after them, and would no doubt be waiting for them in the hangar.

* * *

A half-an-hour later, Fox and his companion emerged from the maintenance hatch in the Docking Sector... not too far from the cheery android that'd helped them earlier. Just as they expected, there were a number of pirates around the hangar, and they'd deployed sentry guns to cover the entrance. This wasn't much of a problem; Krystal still had the rocket launcher she'd picked up in the tram tunnels, and was able to make short work of these sentries. Once the way was clear, both foxes rushed into the hangar bay, where there Arwings were waiting for them. Fox quickly climbed into the cockpit of his own ship; Krystal stopped to dump the spent rocket launcher off the side of the catwalk before doing the same.

He wasted no time in bringing the Arwing's weapons and engines online, causing it to hover off the deck and allowing him to swing the fighter around so that it faced the hangar exit.

"Krystal, are you with me?" He checked.

 _"All systems online. Let's get out of here!"_ She insisted. Fox saw no reason to argue with her; he gunned the engines, and both fighters rocketed out of the hangar...

...and into a storm of laser fire.

"They were waiting for us!" Fox exclaimed.

There were hundreds of them; snub fighters, mechs, and maybe a dozen or more capital ships waiting for them just outside of Horizon's exterior framework. There was no way the could jump- they have to blast through them.

 _"Fox?"_ It was Peppy's voice he heard over the communicator channel. _"We're seeing a lot of unidentified ships heading towards the station; right for the hangar where you and Krystal docked. Is everything all right?"_

"Nothing we can't handle, Peppy!" Fox assured. "Have you heard from Wolf?"

 _"No sign of him,"_ Peppy answered. _"I take it this was a trap?"_

"Not quite," Fox replied. "I'll explain when we get back; send in Falco and Slippy. We're gonna need help breaking out of here."

 _"Fox? We've got enemy ships, incoming!"_ Krystal warned. Fox could see them; several dozen pirate fighters were headed straight for them.

Fox's opened up with the Arwing's dual hyperlasers as soon as the attacking ships were in range; the first wave of pirate fighters quickly disintegrated in a hail of blue laser fire. Krystal was right beside him, helping to plough the road ahead.

The second wave of ships accelerated, splitting their formation and looping around behind the two Arwings. Red laser fire streaked towards him from behind; Fox snap-rolled his ship to the left to avoid it.

 _"Fox, you've got one on your tail!"_

Fox could see him; a tri-wing pirate fighter was directly behind him. Fox swerved, dived, and looped in an attempt to shake the enemy fighter, to no avail. More red lasers streaked past his cockpit.

"I can't shake him!"

 _"Hang on!"_ Krystal was coming up behind the pirate craft; Fox looked over his shoulder, and saw the nose of her Arwing glowing red, indicating she was charging her primary laser.

Krystal fired. The blast from the main cannon tore right through the fighter's shields and breached the hull, causing fire to erupt from the ship's starboard side. Krystal followed up with a sustained barrage from her hyperlasers, and was rewarded with an explosion.

"Thanks, Krystal..." said Fox. He turned his focus back to the enemies ahead of him.

Fox could see Pirate battleships trying to block their path. His targeting computer highlighted the weak points near the center of each ship, where the main reactors would be located. He primed a smart-bomb, and locked onto the nearest ship.

He fired- the projectile tumbled through space, heading straight for the center of the battleship. It landed right on-target, causing an explosion that ripped the battleship in two. A second explosion followed as Krystal bombed the second ship.

Unfortunately, the wreckage from both ships collided with the surrounding framework. Fox remembered that Horizon's entire exterior structure was like a giant Tesla coil; as such, when the beams collapsed, lightning cascaded across the damaged section and the hulls of the two wrecked ships, creating a wall of electricity that they couldn't get past.

A squadron of pirate fighters right behind the battleships realized this too late, flying right into the electrical field, and were vaporized on contact.

 _"This way, Fox!"_ Krystal shouted; her Arwing banked left, away from the wall of lightning. Fox followed her lead through the undamaged framework.

This turned out not be the safest route through the station; the electricity that rippled across the structure presented a potentially deadly hazard. Fox had to be careful not to stray too close to the framework, lest he get zapped. This part of the structure was also filled with all kinds of machinery directing electricity into the station from the power stations on Fulmin.

A series of spinning, ring-shaped instruments seemed to form a corridor that would lead them further out of the station, but these devices were actually Tesla coils that ignited every few seconds. Fox and Krystal found they could fly right through them if they time it right, but they had to do this while still under fire from enemy fighters.

Then there lightning rods, force fields, and automated repair ships that serviced the station, as well as laser batteries and mines that the pirates had deployed in their path. Fox had seen it all before, but it still presented a challenge to navigate through these obstacles.

Eventually, they did manage to get through; but the remainder of the pirate battleships were waiting for them just outside the station's framework.

"Krystal; heads up, we've got more company!" No sooner had the word left his mouth than one of the battleships exploded... and a familiar voice was heard over the comm.

 _"Fox? You still alive?"_ It was Wolf O'Donnell.

"Still here, but there's a lot of ships in our way," Fox replied.

 _"I'll do what I can... but I'm all alone out here. Panther and I got separated,"_ said Wolf.

A second battleship exploded, and Fox was able to see a lone Wolfen fighter dive through the debris. Two of the six remaining battleships broke off after Wolf, along with most of the fighters. That left three more battleships and their fighter escorts for Fox and Krystal to deal with.

"Falco, Slippy; where are you guys?" Fox asked.

 _"Hold on to your tail, Fox; we're almost there!"_ Falco replied. Fox was tracking two more Arwings on his radar, but they were still a ways out.

"Okay, Krystal... help is on the way. But we still gotta bust out of here!"

 _"I hear you, Fox,"_ Krystal acknowledged. _"I think it's time these ruffians knew exactly who they're dealing with."_

Krystal punctuated that statement by firing several smart-bombs at the oncoming ships; Fox followed her example, firing off one of his three remaining bombs into the swarm of enemy fighters, before switching to hyperlasers.

One after the other, the pirate ships popped like firecrackers. The first battleship in their path blew up when both Arwings turned their guns on the center structure. Fox charged up his main laser to deal with the second ship; Krystal immitated him. Two red laser blasts collided with the side of the ship, and the ship exploded in a brilliant fireball.

The last battleship was much larger than the others; upon closer inspecting, Fox realized it was actually an old Venomian carrier, not unlike those he'd seen as part of the fleet in Sector Y years ago, with several Shogun mechs loaded on the deck.

 _"Fox, Slippy and I are inbound. I got eyes on that carrier; wait for us before you try to tackle that thing,"_ Falcon advised.

Falco and Slippy's Arwings were coming up on the carrier from behind. Fox saw Falco launch a smart-bomb at the carriers engines.

 _"How do you like that!"_ Falco cried out in triumph as an explosion erupted from the carrier's stern. The ship began to list heavily to port; as it did, Fox saw three mechs launch from the deck.

 _"That should put the carrier out of commission,"_ said Slippy. "Now we just gotta take care of those mechs!"

Easier said than done; the pirate's space mechs were equipped with long-range laser cannons rigged to their right arms, and heavy metal shields rigged to their left which could repel the Arwing's laser fire. They were also very fast and nimble.

On the plus side, Star Fox team outnumbered the pirate vehicles... and the ruffians weren't as well-trained as Fox and his team.

The first mech went down easily enough; Fox was able to take it out with a few well-placed shots to the back as it barreled after Falco, which left it's flank exposed. The second and third one went down just as easily- but by then, the carrier was ready to launch more mechs.

"We need to destroy that carrier," said Fox as another mech went down. "Or they'll just keep sending out reinforcements."

 _"I'm not seeing any other weak points on that ship, Fox!"_ Slippy replied.

 _"Try destroying the mechs before they launch,"_ Falco suggested. _"If they blow up on the deck, it may damage the carrier."_

"Alright; Krystal, follow me in," Fox ordered. "Falco, Slippy; you handle the stragglers. Keep them off our backs while we go after the carrier."

" _Roger that, Fox!"_ Slippy acknowledged.

Falco's idea worked like a charm; as Fox saw another Shogun mech being loaded on the deck of the carrier, he fired off a smart bomb. The mech was utterly defenseless sitting on the launch pad like that; it couldn't shoot back, nor raise it's shield to protect itself until it was airborne.

The mech exploded, breaching the carrier's deck armor and causing the already crippled vessel to tumble over. It wouldn't take much more to finish it.

"Krystal, you're up! Finish it off!" Fox ordered. Krystal's Arwing swooped in under the carrier, which was now upside-down. Fox could see at least a half-a-dozen more mechs stored in the carrier's launch bay through the breach in the hull; when they blew up, they would take the whole ship with it.

The pirates had other ideas, though. Before Krystal could launch a smart-bomb, the bow of the ship exploded, and the remaining Shoguns began pouring out of the breach; they'd blasted their way out!

"Uh-oh..." said Fox ominously. "Brace yourselves!"

Fox counted fourteen heavy mechs in all. All were outfitted with shields, lasers, and missile pods. This wasn't going to be easy. He checked his weapons; he only had one smart-bomb left, but it wouldn't do him much good unless the mechs flew in a tight formation; and they were already splitting up, with at least three-to-four mechs pursuing each of the Arwings... and five of them were head straight for him.

Before he knew it, Fox was surrounded. All five mechs had their laser cannons trained on him, and his teammates were too busy fighting off the others to help.

 _"Nowhere to run, mercenary scum,"_ the mech leader proclaimed. _"Give up."_

"I don't think so," Fox retorted. He put his craft into a vertical dive, breaking free of the mech's formation; they gave chase, firing lasers and rockets after him.

Fox looped, rolled, and dived to avoid the incoming fire, but he was outnumbered and outgunned five-to-one; he couldn't take the offensive.

"Star Fox, report in! I've got bogeys on my tail!"

 _"We've got our own problems here, boss!"_ Falco replied.

 _"I can't shake them!"_ Krystal cried out.

 _"Uh, guys? HELP!"_ Slippy pleaded.

Fox looked for Slippy on his display; in addition to the four mechs tailing him, more pirate starfighters had entered the fray, and most of them were gunning for the unfortunate toad. Fox was still dodging fire from his own pursuers, as were Falco and Krystal. This was bad. This was very bad...

Then, something very strange appeared on Fox's radar- twelve unidentified Arwings had just appeared out of nowhere, and they were closing fast.

"Heads up, we've got more company-"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than one of the mechs tailing him exploded.

 _"What in the-!?"_ The mech leader exclaimed. Another mech exploded, then another... and then...

" _ARGH!"_ It was the mech leader; his robot disintegrated in a barrage of blue laser fire. His two remaining wingmen follow suite.

That was when Fox saw the culprit; one of the unidentified Arwings blew through the debris and came up right beside him. It look just like the Assault variants that Fox and his team were flying, only it was jet-black, and devoid of any markings or insignia.

The Arwing quickly took off to join the others, all of which were painted black just like it, though the others also featured a red trim. If Fox had to guess, he would say the unmarked one that just saved him was the leader.

"Who are these guys?" Falco asked no one in particular. Unexpectedly, it was one of the pirates who answered.

 _"It's Black Fox!"_ The unknown pirate shouted over the comm. _"Everyone, get out of here! Every man for himself!"_

 _"They're everywhere, I can't shake 'em-"_

 _"Bogey on my tail, he came out of nowhere-!"_

 _"I'm hit, I'm hit, I'm-!"_

The comm was flooded with the pirate's cries for help as Black Fox tore into them. More black Arwings materialized out of nowhere. Some of the pirates tried to fight back, but whenever one of the Black Fox got an enemy on his tail, he would simply vanish- and then reappear, behind his would-be assailant.

The others tried to scatter, but Black Fox was merciless, chasing them down and destroying their ships with methodical precision. Fox had never seen anyone fly like they did.

As quickly as they appeared, the Stealth Arwings vanished; only the leader lingered long enough to put a smart-bomb into the wrecked carrier, destroying it for good... and then he too disappeared.

Star Fox formed up on it's leader. Krystal and Falco were both a little worse for wear, while Slippy's Arwing was in pretty bad shape, with both wings shot off and the fuselage covered in scorch marks.

 _"I'm okay!"_ Slippy reassured.

 _"That was a close call..."_ Krystal stated.

 _"Who on earth were those guys?"_ Falco asked. _"They were flying Arwings!_ Our _Arwings!"_

 _"I heard the pirates call them Black Fox!"_ Slippy supplied. _"Anyone ever heard of them?"_

"Krystal and I have," Fox informed. "Wolf had some very interesting information to share; let's back to the Great Fox, and we'll fill you in."

* * *

 **Author's Note : Black Fox's sudden and convenient appearance will be explained in the next chapter. As for Fox and the team nearly getting beat by common pirates... well, even Star Fox occasionally finds itself outgunned. Happens all the time on the Hard route in Star Fox 64. Let me know what you think of the story so far... I think I may have been a bit lazy when it came to writing the battle scenes.**


	4. Corvis & Corran: The Kyrak Resistance

**Author's Note : Sorry for the wait! There's a little bit more action in this chapter. If the planets described here sound familiar, that's because I got the inspiration from Mass Effect; in the first game, there's a side-mission on a similar type of planet in the Styx Theta Cluster, after you complete the main story missions on Noveria. Can't remember the name of the planet itself, though...**

 **BTW, I've gotten a few faves and follows since I started this, but I've only gotten one review; like I said before, I'd appreciate feedback. I want to become a better writer, and this is one of the chapters I got a tad lazy with. Any critique could help me to improve future chapters.**

* * *

After the battle outside Horizon, Fox filled everyone in on the situation, and what Wolf O'Donnell had told him. Peppy in particular was very disturbed by the idea of the Black Fox group, and their being outfitted with Stealth Arwings.

"It doesn't make any sense," the old hare said once Fox and Krystal finished their tale.

"Which part?" Fox asked him.

The Star Fox crew was assembled on the bridge; displayed on the monitors were the original designs for the Stealth Arwing, based on the old SF-64 model they'd used in the Lylat Wars. The blueprints showed it was outfitted with vast array of electronic countermeasures and enhanced weaponry, most notably the cloaking device, allowing the fighter to turn invisible at the push of a button.

"I helped James design the Stealth Arwing," Peppy explained. "We only ever had one operational prototype... and we lost that on Venom, along with James."

"You lost me," said Fox, scratching his head.

"I'm sorry..." said Peppy. "I'll get right to the point, then; I knew James McCloud. He was a good man- an honorable man. I refuse to believe that he would allow another mercenary gang access to our designs... much less that he would join their ranks, given the reputation of this group."

Fox didn't like the sound of it, either. Black Fox was a parasite, if what Wolf said about them was true; that they were indeed playing both sides against the middle in this civil war. Fox couldn't imagine his father being a part of a gang like that, no matter the reason.

"Fox... I know you want to find James-" Peppy began; Fox cut him off abruptly.

"Don't say it," said Fox. "You think he really is dead?"

"I believe that the most logical conclusion is that he was probably captured by this Black Fox team," Peppy explained. "If he was still in possession of the prototype when he came out here... they might have been able to reverse engineer it."

"You saw first hand what a potent weapon it can be," Peppy continued. "An Arwing with cloaking technology... do you really believe that your father would just sell the design for that ship to a band of ruthless cutthroats?"

"No," Fox answered. Peppy was right, it didn't make any sense... and that meant his father was most likely dead after all. Maybe Black Fox had succeeded where Andross failed.

This also meant they had a new target; the Black Fox team itself. They were fanning the flames of this civil war, profiting from the suffering of the people in the Kyrak System, using technology they'd stolen from Star Fox... and they'd most likely murdered his father. They needed to be brought to justice.

In the end, they decided their best bet was to go ahead with Wolf's idea; they were going to find the Resistance hiding on the twin planets of Corvis and Corran... and see if the rebel leaders had a line on the Black Fox.

* * *

Corvis and Corran formed a unique type of celestial body called a binary world; two planets that orbited so close together, they shared the same atmosphere. Intense gravitational forces between the two worlds created fierce windstorms across the surfaces of both planets; it was the perfect place for a rebel hideout. The storms on the surfaces created a great deal of interference for anyone trying to locate the stronghold by radar.

That didn't stop the Parthian military, though. Apparently, they'd been combing both planets for months, searching for Resistance base... to no avail. The rebels were able to bypass the Parthian blockade entirely by having their ship warp directly into the planet's atmosphere... and once they were in-atmosphere, they couldn't be tracked.

The team agreed it would be best not to tangle with the Parthian forces just yet. Peppy took a leaf out of the rebels book and warped straight into Corvis's atmosphere. Fox and Krystal were to hit the ground in Landmasters, while Falco and Slippy would provide cover from above in Arwings.

Corvis proved home to all sorts of unfriendly creatures, namely giant insects that reminded Fox of the Aparoids; he saw tarantulas as big as the Landmaster, giant acid-spitting mosquitos, and massive winged beatles with thick natural armor that only the Great Fox's cannons could penetrate. The rest was dealt with by way of the Landmaster's heavy cannon.

Fox and Krystal landed their Arwings in a small crater on the planet's surface. Here was where they had their first encounter with the local wildlife; just as Fox jumped down from his Arwing, he observed a series of earthen mounds that looked like giant anthills... turns out, that's exactly what they were.

The creatures that emerged from the mounds certainly looked like ants, but with exoskeletons tinted shiny black with green and blue accents. That also seemed to have evolved a natural defense in the form of an energy weapon embedded in their pincers.

One decided to use Fox for target practice, digging it's legs into the earth and clicking it's pincers together; energy rippled between the appendages, forming a ball of green light which the insect proceeded to fire at him. Fox dodged the blast, and returned fire with his blaster; it only took a few shots before the wounded creature collapsed in the dirt.

Unfortunately, there were a lot more crawling up from the depths of their nests, having sensed the disturbance on the surface.

"Peppy? We should could use those Landmasters right about now," Fox pleaded as the enemy presence continued to grow. Krystal was perched on the nose of her Arwing, peppering the insects with blaster fire, but for each one she downed, five more took it's place.

"There's not enough room in that crater for the Landmaster," Peppy replied regretfully. "Try destroying the entrances to their nests; that should stop them from coming up. I'll have two Landmasters ready on the edge of the crater when your done."

"Can you at least get us some more firepower?" Krystal pleaded.

"I have just the thing. R0B?" Peppy said.

"Location confirmed. Sending supplies," said R0B. A small pallet materialized next to Fox's Arwing, loaded with a machine gun, a shotgun, plus plenty of ammo and a few remote charges for blowing up the ant mounds.

Fox grabbed what he could carry, and proceeded to destroying the anthills; the machine gun and blaster wouldn't do much damage to, so he had to drop the remote charges into the nests, setting them off below ground to collapse the tunnels to the surface.

Fox could see at least a dozen mounds spread throughout the crater. R0B sent them more charges when they need them, along with more ammo. Some of the creatures had natural energy shields that could only be destroyed with the shotguns or charge blaster shots. These ants also sported wings, allowing them to hover a few feet above the battlefield and blast the two foxes from above... but they weren't so high up they were out of shotgun range, so Fox was able to blast them out of the air easy enough.

When the last of the insects were dealt with, Fox and his companion were able to make their way up to the edge of the crater. Just like he'd promised, Peppy had sent them two Landmasters, prepped and ready to go.

The Landmaster was one of Fox's favorite vehicles. Though he preferred flying to ground combat, there was no denying that it was fun sitting behind the controls of an extremely powerful heavy laser cannon. The vehicle had also received some improvements; since their battle with Aparoids, Slippy added a coaxially-mounted gatling gun and a rocket launcher to the turret, allowing the Landmaster to better defend itself against both infantry and aircraft, respectively... this improved arsenal was also equally good for squashing giant bugs.

Just as well; after a while of scouring the surface of Corvis, they found no trace of the Resistance stronghold... and managed to disturb a nest of giant winged fire-ants. Krystal wound up having to advance into the nest when Fox's Landmaster was snatched up by one of these abominations. One of the larger creatures- which appeared to the queen, as far as they could tell- held Fox's Landmaster in it's pincers, trying and failing to crush the armored vehicle which it'd mistake for food.

Krystal followed him into the subterranean nest, using the Landmaster's weapons to bring down the ceiling on top of the giant ant queen, freeing her comrade from it's clutches and decimating the nest. Fox was a bit shaken (and a little embarrassed, being the one who needed rescuing for once), but his vehicle was undamaged; once he regained his composure, he aided Krystal in demolishing the rest of the caves, before returning to the surface.

While the team played exterminator on the ground, Peppy picked up a garbled transmission coming from the second planet, Corran. Once their bug problem was taken care of, Fox and his comrades returned to the Great Fox (Fox was adamant that he never wanted to see any giant bugs ever again), they made way for Corran, this time with the whole team in Arwings... just in case they ran into more hostile wildlife.

"Okay, Peppy," said Fox from the cockpit of his Arwing. "What are we looking for?"

"I'm picking up a coded transmission coming from the canyons in Corran's northern hemisphere," Peppy informed. "The Parthians got a lock on it, too... so expect company."

"Roger that, Peppy. We'll handle it," said Fox.

"Oh, and uh... one more thing," Peppy added. "Bio-scanners are picking up life readings similar to those on Corvis."

"Great," said Fox sarcastically. "More bugs..."

Falco was laughing over the comm. "Come on, Fox; I thought you weren't afraid of anything?" Fox simply growled back at him.

"Leave him alone, Falco!" Kyrstal reprimanded. "I've got an idea; why don't you hop in the Landmaster and try clearing out those nests for us?"

"No thanks," Falco retorted. "I'm allergic to being eaten."

"C'mon guys; break it up!" Slippy insisted.

"We're getting close," said Fox. "I'm detecting Parthian ships up ahead, just down the canyon."

"Try not to let any of them get away, Fox!" Peppy warned. "We don't want them reporting back to their homeworld, or the whole system will be after us!"

"Roger," Fox affirmed. The four Arwings dove into the canyon, with the Great Fox covering them from above.

Sure enough, there were bugs, as well as Parthian scout fighters, bombers, and troopships. The first Parthian patrol they came across was too busy fighting off a swarm of giant winged fire ants to pay the Star Fox team much attention... until they started shooting at them.

The Parthian forces, still up their necks in giant bugs, panicked and scattered as the Arwings tore through their formation. None of the scouts remained when they were done, and the leftover bugs were scared out by the sudden attack.

Shortly after, they met a second patrol further down the canyon. Fox counted six fighters; the Parthian forces favored a sleek, manta-shaped craft with a pearl-white finish as their primary starfighter. They looked rather out-of-place in the ravaged desert environment of Corran.

"This is the commander of Parthia advance recon flight two-zero-niner to incoming aircraft; identify yourself," came the pilot's voice over the comm.

"Identify this," Falco responded; all four Arwings opened up simultaneously with hyperlasers, tearing apart the second Parthian squadron.

As they moved further down the canyon, the imperial forces began to realize that something was wrong; the next group they ran into open fire the instant the Star Fox team came within range. As they got closer to the source of the signal, they also began to see more of the Parthian's teardrop-shaped troopships.

"Take down those landing craft before they reach the Resistance base!" Peppy advised. Fox and the team opened up on the lightly armored craft whenever they came across one, sending them plunging into the canyon floor.

"I'm getting a transmission from further down the canyon!" Peppy informed. "The Resistance base is hailing us; patching it through now!"

Fox heard a new voice over the communications channel, that of a woman.

"This is Captain Tigress Sullivan of the Kyrak Resistance," she said. "I don't know who you are, but you'd best tell me what you're doing on my planet."

"Captain Sullivan?" Fox answered. "This is Fox McCloud, leader of Star Fox. We're here to help."

"Are you now?" Tigress retorted. "I know who your are, Star Fox... what's your price?"

"Information," Fox replied. "We're looking for Black Fox."

Tigress took a moment to respond. "Black Fox? Isn't that interesting... I might be able to help you, but first... help us drive out this imperialist scum!"

"With pleasure," Fox assured.

They eventually found the Resistance base at the end of the canyon, set into the canyon walls. Fox could already see a Parthian troopship landing inside the hangar- a smart-bomb served to take care of that.

The team flew straight into the base; there were tunnels beyond the hangar leading deeper underground with Parthian and Resistance ships racing through them. The Resistance forces were mostly flying old Cornerian fighters, and were clearly outmatched by the technologically superior Parthian aircraft.

Star Fox was just what the rebels needed to tip the scales in their favor. Fox and his team blasted through any imperial ships they across, earning the thanks of many rebel pilots trying to outrun them in the tunnels. The team eventually found itself in another hangar, where four troopships had landed and were already deploying ground forces.

"Fox!" It was Tigress again. "I'm getting reports of landing craft in Hangar A; we've locked it down, but we can't risk them breaching the perimeter!"

"What do you want us to do?" Asked Fox.

"Destroy the fuel tanks in the hangar!" Tigress ordered. "That'll stop them cold... oh, and make sure to get out before the ceiling collapses on you!"

"Right..." Fox replied. At his order, Falco, Slippy, and Krystal raced ahead of him, back out into the canyon; Fox targeted the large red fuel tanks with a couple of smart-bombs before hitting his thrusters, rocketing out of the hangar with a massive fireball blossoming behind him.

"Great job, Fox!" Krystal congratulated.

"Agreed; excellent work, Fox!" Tigress added. "Now... don't let any of them live to tell the tale! The Parthian flagship is just down the canyon. Don't let them leave this planet alive!"

Fox obeyed. Several Resistance fighters joined them and the Star Fox team raced to the end of the canyon, destroying any and all imperial ships in their way.

As the canyon opened up more, Fox could see the Parthian flagship; a massive rocket with engines embedded into each of the crafts four tail-fins. Fighters were flying in formation around it, and Fox assumed they'd have to blast through them to get the flagship.

To his surprise, the fighters broke formation, scattered, and headed for orbit. The flagship remained. Looking at the vessel facing them, Fox felt a strange sense of deja-vu...

Suddenly, the Parthian flagship began to transform; the main thrusters were extinguished, and the wings closed up on either side. A panel on the back of craft slid open... and a giant, white panther's head emerged from the back of the craft. The nose section of the rocket broke away, and what had been the flagships engines and wings had bonded together to form a pair of mechanical, clawed hands.

Fox had seen this before. It was the exact same type of robotic head used by Andross, and later by his nephew, Andrew Oikonny... only this one looked like a panther instead of an ape, and it's armor was constructed in the same fashion as the Parthian's ships; sleek and pearl-white.

"Fox, is it just me, or does that think look like-?"

"I know, Falco!" Fox responded. "Slippy?"

"Shield analysis complete!" Slippy affirmed. "Bringing it up on the monitor!"

A bar displaying the dreadnought's shield strength appear on Fox's HUD. It looked to be of about the same strength as Oikonny's construct on Fortuna. Fox had a feeling this fight would play out the same way... though hopefully with no Aparoids.

Fox fell into a familiar pattern of attack. The panther dreadnaught would take swipes at his Arwing with it's rocket-powered claws; after each attack, the claw would pull back to recharge, leaving it's main power regulator open to laser fire. They only needed to disable the Panther's claws, and then it would be helpless.

This dreadnought was far more aggressive than the ones he'd fought before. It took multiple swipes at them with both paws, trying to swat the Arwings out of the sky. Fox retaliated, targeting the left paw's power node with his hyperlasers. Sparks and smoke sputtered from the node, and the jets flickered on and off; one hand was out of commission. One more to go.

The dreadnought had a few more tricks up it's sleeve, though. The giant panther's head open it's mouth and let loose an almighty roar; Fox's shields flared, and his canopy cracked as a result. Apparently it was packing some kind of sonic weapon.

"Put a few bombs right down his throat!" Falco encouraged. Fox took his advice- he waited for the panther to open it's mouth again, and when it did, he let loose a couple of smart bombs. Both projectiles found their target, knocking out the main weapon and causing smoke to pour from the panthers mouth and ears... but it was dead yet.

With it's sonic projector damaged, the panther returned to swiping at them with it's one undamaged paw. It managed to knock down several Resistance fighters, but Fox was able to dodge the blow and return fire with his main laser cannon. A charged shot disabled the second claw, and the panther-head was left defenseless.

"Go for the eyes, Fox! Go for the eyes!" Peppy encouraged further. Fox and Krystal opened up with their hyperlasers on the panther's right eye- Falco and Slippy did the same with the second.

A series of explosions tore through the dreadnought's hull, destroying the porcelain white armor and revealing the mechanized skull underneath.

"Peppy? It's all yours," said Fox.

"Roger that, Fox," Peppy affirmed. "Main cannon is charged, and ready to... FIRE!"

Twin golden beams lanced from the Great Fox's main guns, obliterating the dreadnought. Star Fox and the remaining Resistance fighters broke off to avoid the explosion. When the smoke cleared, what was left of the panther dreadnought was strewn among the sand and rock on the canyon floor... they had won.

"Excellent work, Star Fox!" Captain Sullivan congratulated. "Return to base... we have much to discuss."

* * *

 **Author's Notes : I had a lot more fun driving the Landmaster in Star Fox: Assault than I did in Star Fox 64, and it looked so much cooler to boot. Only problem I had was it needed more weapons; the Arwing has bombs, and on foot you get barriers, but the Landmaster only has it's main gun. I probably should've describe the Landmaster battle in this chapter with a bit more detail.**


End file.
